Marina’s Missing Pearl
Marina’s Missing Pearl
by ReadRead · 5 min readA lost pearl, a trail of bubbles and a shy little octopus who is all alone. An under-the-sea story about asking for help and making a new friend.
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Marina the little mermaid keeps a round white pearl in her big pink shell. One day a big wave rolls it away, down, down, down. Turtle spots a little bubble coming up from the deep, so they follow the bubbles and dive. The hole in the rocks is too small for them, but not for the shy little octopus who lives inside.
The new words in this book
To go down into the water, head first. It comes up 8 times, and every time someone really tips over and plunges down to the sand.
A little round ball of air in the water. It comes up 8 times, and the bubbles on the page rise, wobble and pop.
A refrain comes back on purpose (“Follow the bubble! Dive, dive!”), so a pre-reader can join in by page four. Every other word is a common word, like sea, shell, pearl, hole, help and play.
Questions to ask while you read
Pause after each spread and ask one question. There are no right answers; the point is to get your child talking.
- 1What does Marina keep in her pink shell?
- 2What happens when the big wave comes?
- 3Turtle sees a little bubble. Where is it coming from?
- 4Can you make your hand dive like Marina?
- 5Why can’t Marina and Turtle go into the hole?
- 6Who lives in the hole? How do you think Ollie feels?
- 7How does Ollie help Marina?
- 8Ollie is all alone. What does Marina say to him?
- 9Tap a friend to dive, and pop the bubbles!
- 10Who is someone you could ask for help?
How hard is this book?
About 300 words, longer sentences, more different words.
- Dialogue × 9“Look, Marina! A little bubble!”
- Questions × 3“Oh no! Where is my pearl?” cries Marina.
- Commands × 2Tap a bubble to pop it!
- Not / no × 2“Not now! Come and play with us!”
- Past tense × 3It is a little octopus called Ollie!
- Contractions × 1Now let’s play! Tap a friend to make it dive.
- Bigger / biggest × 1The pearl shines in the pink shell once more.
All 117 words, most used first
the 20 · a 14 · and 9 · bubble 8 · dive 8 · down 8 · is 7 · it 7 · pearl 7 · big 5 · little 5 · hole 4 · in 4 · pop 4 · sea 4 · comes 3 · deep 3 · my 3 · shell 3 · to 3 · called 2 · can 2 · follow 2 · goes 2 · he 2 · help 2 · into 2 · look 2 · make 2 · now 2 · of 2 · oh 2 · out 2 · pink 2 · play 2 · rolls 2 · says 2 · she 2 · shines 2 · tap 2 · that 2 · then 2 · up 2 · with 2 · you 2 · all · alone · am · away · blue · but · come · cries · dark · day · each · eyes · fell · for · friend · friends · from · fun · game · gives · gold · has · hello · her · here · him · hooray · house · hug · i · keeps · kelp · let's · like · lives · me · mermaid · moon · more · no · not · octopus · once · one · opens · past · right · rocks · round · safe · shows · small · so · still · sun · swims · tall · thank · them · this · three · through · too · turns · two · us · wave · way · what · where · white · your
Names don’t count: the picture shows who it is.
Tips for parents
- First time: use Read to me and let your child just listen and watch.
- Before page five, stop and ask “Where do the bubbles come from?” Let them guess.
- On the game page, say the word as your child taps: “Dive!” “Pop the bubble!”
- At bath time, blow bubbles through a straw and let a toy dive to the bottom: “Follow the bubble! Dive, dive!”